Biodiversity Observations October 2024 Report: Jericho, Underhill, Richmond, Bolton, Vermont

Enjoy the benefits of connection with nature. 

Jericho, Underhill, Richmond, Bolton, (VT) 

 Biodiversity monthly report.

JURBIC BIODIVERSITY REPORT

Leaderboard (no. of observers)

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View Jericho insect observations in Oct here.

View Underhill insect observations in Oct here.

View Richmond insect observations in Oct here.

View Bolton insect observations in Oct here.

View My Favorites here. 

Click to Compare to the other municipalities (towns, cities, gores) in Vermont. 

Click to Read about the "Jericho, Underhill, Richmond, Bolton, Inverting Club" 

View my backyard report, 1,000 Insect Species Found in One Acre of Jericho, VT Yard

 Will you report your observations on iNaturalist?
Links below are short videos on how to upload observations to iNaturalist. Tutorial from North Branch Nature Center. 
iNaturalist: uploading observations using desktops and laptops
iNaturalist: uploading observations with mobile devices

View the latest observations posted on iNaturalist at Jericho, Underhill, Richmond, and Bolton.

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View PLANTS observed growing in Jericho here, in Underhill here, in Richmond here, in Bolton here.

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Observing the behavior and the life cycle of insects is like getting to know someone as an individual vs. knowing them by name and infrequent contact only.

 - Bernie

View the 2023 iNaturalist observation numbers at Discovering Life in Jericho - 2023 by the Numbers.

The Eight Major Orders of Insects

There are 26 orders of insects, but the vast majority belong to only these eight. Below is a short guide to the identification of the eight major orders.

        Beetles Coleoptera (“sheath wings”)

• -  largest order of living things with over 290,000 species known worldwide
• -  two pairs of wings, but the outer pair is hardened covering the top of the body and meeting in a straight line down the back.
• -  have “chewing jaws”
• -  metamorphosis is complete
  
  
  Moths, Butterflies Lepidoptera (“scaly wings”)
• -  second largest order of insects (beetles are #1) - mostly moths
• -  two pairs of wings covered with small scales that rub off easily
• -  only insects with sucking mouth parts in the form of a coiled tube.
• -  in the larval stage, most butterfly and moth species feed on leaves, often of a particular plant or related group of plants
• -  metamorphosis is complete
  
  
  Bees, Wasps, Ants Hymenoptera (“membrane-winged”)
• -  third largest order.
• -  have 2 pairs of thin, clear, membraneous wings.
• -  females have a well-developed egg-laying organ and/or stinger at the end of their abdomen
• -  ants have wings only at certain stages of life, some have stingers, too
• -  considered the most highly evolved order of insects.
• -  Most wasps are parasites; their young hatch and develop inside the bodies of other insects or spiders. These parasites are our chief ally in the control of many pest insects.
• -  Bees and wasps are important pollinators of food crops and other plants.
• -  metamorphosis is complete
  
  
  Flies, Mosquitoes, Gnats Diptera (“two wings”)
• -  fourth largest order (third in North America)
• -  if an insect has just one pair of wings, it is a fly of some kind.
• -  all adult flies have sucking mouth parts
• -  metamorphosis is complete
  
  
  Crickets, Grasshoppers, Locusts Orthoptera (“straight wings”)
• -  thin, leathery forewings that cover larger hind wings that are folded like a fan when at rest.
• -  important food for birds and other insect eaters.
• -  metamorphosis is gradual

Dragonflies, Damselflies Odonata (“tooth”)

• -  2 pairs of long, narrow, membranous wings that are roughly equal in size.
• -  they also have large eyes and extremely long, narrow abdomens.
• -  at rest, dragonflies hold wings out flat, while damselflies hold wings together above
  their bodies.
• -  adults feed on other insects (gnats, mosquitoes)
• -  metamorphosis is gradual
  
  
  Aphids, Cicadas, Leafhoppers Homoptera (“same wings”)
• -  2 pairs of membranous wings held in a tent-like or rooftop position over the body when at rest.
• -  adults (except Cicadas) feed on plant sap
• -  metamorphosis is gradual
  
  
  Bugs, Backswimmers, Water Striders Hemiptera (“half-wings”)
• -  identified by a triangle on the back just behind the head. This is formed by the way the insects fold their forewings when at rest.
• -  2 pairs of wings; hind wings are membranous, while the basal half of the forewings is hardened.
• -  metamorphosis is gradual
  
  
  OTHER INSECTS OF IMPORTANCE 

Termites: small, soft-bodied, pale with short, straight antennae. Flying forms have 2 pairs of wings. Do not have constricted waist like ants. Have sophisticated societies - the queen may live 10 years. Most of the 41 species live in the SE. Eat cellulose of the wood fibers making them bad for buildings but valuable for breaking down dead wood in the forests.

Springtails: tiny, wingless with prominent antennae. The forked structure allows them to “spring” into the air. Among the most abundant creatures on earth, are millions per acre. Immensely beneficial in breaking down leaf litter and fungi into soil components. Include “snow fleas.”

Bristletails: wingless, crawling, terrestrial with long segmented antennae and 3 long “tails”. Include silverfish and firebrats. Eat decaying plants outdoors and starchy substances including books, wallpaper, and clothing indoors. Among the most primitive of insects.

Reference: Peterson First Guides / Insects by Christopher Leahy Observing Insect Lives by Donald Stokes, 1983

Traditional research on pollinators has focussed on specific bee groups, such as honeybees and bumblebees (Kremen et al., 2002; Klatt et al., 2014; Lemanski et al., 2022). However, recent studies have demonstrated the equally critical roles played by other insect groups, including ants, beetles, bugs, butterflies, flies, and wasps (Rader et al., 2016; Rader et al., 2020; Requier et al., 2023).  - Masari Date, Yuya Fukano, Sayed Ibrahim Farkhary, Kei Uchida, Masashi Soga, (April 2024).

Halloween Fever

  

   It was a warm Halloween night. Warmer than forever before. 

   Nearly every creature that had buried its head in sand and soil, under tree bark, in pithy stems, in brush piles, under leaves, or in tiny cavities in rock walls - had all expected to sleep or at least lie dormant with the encouragement of shorter days, lowering temperatures and even one day of October snow, foretelling long flowerless months. Every individual of every insect species had gorged on nectar the months prior. 

   By mid-October, only a few brave flowers remained offering Last Call at the dinner table. Even male bees that would not live to see another season, perched a seat only to be quickly bumped off by another. Seating was extremely limited, and competition fierce; very small inconspicuous insects carried an advantage as they could hide inside the flower. None easily gave up a chance at sweet deserts this late in the game. The bumble bee bumped the sweat bee, the yellow jacket bumped off the bumble bee, the hornet sideswiped the yellow jacket, and so on. At the end of the day, the sole purple aster bloom wilted in deficient dry-off - no longer able to serve customers of any size. The last flowering restaurant was no more. Beetles and ants scurrying up the stem left the premises disappointed and hungry. 

   Normally by Halloween night, every insect would be dreaming of sweet nectar Snickers, nectar Nestles bars, and nectar Hershey bars - all shaped like their individual favorite flowers. Normally these sugared syrupy, candied commercials would play out in their heads until they awoke and came out of their winter habitat in the spring to find new flowering blooms. But this was no normal Halloween night. No, this was all wrong. This Halloween night was dark, yes. The lights of fireflies were doused. Most of the insect-eating birds had migrated weeks before. Flyswatters, insect repellant, and mosquito dunks were closeted with the mothballs. But something was different. 

   Surely the weather forecast was a mistake. Seventy-seven degrees on Halloween? That must be a typo. It must really mean twenty-seven degrees Fahrenheit.

       It was true, the climate change roll of the dice had come up all sevens. An ominous sign as warmer falls could affect plant and animal preparations for hibernation, severely shortening the time they usually take to prepare for winter, and delaying processes like changes in foliage and leaf dropping. Warm Halloweens could melt candy before kids could get their hot hands on it. 

   This Halloween night, melting candy would not be the major concern. This warm Halloween night, the concern would not be ghosts and goblins, witches brew or spells, nor would the concern be princes turning to toads, or winds uplifting angel-winged costumes. No, this unusually warm Halloween would bring out competition at the candy bowls. The competition would cause even the big kids to shiver in fear of being pushed aside preventing them from dipping their hands into bowls of Halloween candy. 

   Just as jack-o-lanterns and the man on the moon and house porch lights broke the darkness, tiny movements rustled restlessly making sounds seldom heard this time of year. Leaves rustled without any wind, tree bark flaked off without a touch, tiny specs of pithy wood shot out from dead flower stems, sounds of millions of scuttling feet from within brush piles; Rock walls erupting with shrill sounds, harsh, high-pitched, jarring, penetrating, and piercing; all coming - not from spooky graveyards - the eery sounds were coming from much, much closer. 

   They woke up on Halloween night, in unison, in a camaraderie, with a shared hunger for nectar. But if none could be found - that irresistible blend of creamy peanut butter and rich chocolate would suffice.

 Since no flowers woke up simultaneously, the search commenced for a replacement. 

   Soon every bowl of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, M&Ms, Snickers, Hot tamales, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Starburst, Hershey Kisses, and Hershey Mini Bars, did not have goblin hands grasping for goodies. Instead, little creatures, some with four and some with six legs scurried the rims before sliding down into the glucose, fructose, and sucrose. Never before had such a wildlife-mania pulsing in overdose mode, enticed so many species into oversized plastic flowers filled with seemingly unending supplies of sugary sap. And not a single one of them was about to give up its place at the biggest Last Call ever. 

  So when small fingers on small hands arrived in small costumes that made it difficult to see, calling out Trick or Treat, lifting their hopeful faces while touting bags they hoped to fill; when those small hands and those small fingers reached into the Halloween bowls, a new sound entered the foray. A screeching and bellowing that outcompeted the wolves howling, and the witches and owls screeching. For when the fingers entered the bowls, what at first felt squishy and delectable, soon awakened a seldom experienced TRICK instead of Treat. The candy was moving - on its own - some on four and some on six legs and feet. Fingers were being pushed aside. Candy pulled from hands back to the flower (candy) bowl. 

   That is when I woke up sweating, with a belly ache from eating too much Halloween candy. Next year I am wearing a lighter Halloween Costume and leaving some candy for uninvited and unexpected guests. Oh, and I must remember to not eat any Halloween candy until I am sure it is not (moving) and cannot move by itself. 

PS I wonder what the forecast for Thanksgiving Day will be and who or what else likes Turkey! Let's hope it is not an unusually warm day. 

Lead us to Nature

we will never again

be lost.  

- Bernie

Real Vermonters Cherish Their Leaves in Every Season - Winter Blankets Needed

   They came in droves for the leaves. The colors, they said, were spectacular this year. Then they went their way, each back to their homes, thankfully leaving some green behind in place of payment for the kaleidoscope along Vermont’s highways and byways, dirt roads, and trails, mountains and valleys, and floating quilt patches over rivers and streams. 

   Unlike some less fortunate folks not yet retired, I find no need to rake up and bag the now-fading brown and crispy leaves of kaleidoscope vintage. 

   Just as the trees give up their leaves in the fall, so too do I give up unnecessary if not unproductive work. My rakes, now seemingly ancient caveman tools, acquiesce to their obsolescence while shuddering with embarrassment at their grandchildren down the street blowing leaves and eardrums far from their range. 

   Now they come in droves, not the leaf peepers but those in want of blankets; For winter blankets of leaves are of great value to many a creature including pollinators who help ensure spring and summer are abound in colors transferred from the fall leaves to the ground and then to the flowers.

      

   I have exchanged my socially conditioned mono scope for a kaleidoscope that showers my yard with diverse life throughout the year. The patterns of life in its many forms - each one supporting another - build a quilt fashioned without me threading a single stitch. The green and browns I leave on the ground enrich the colors I will enjoy come spring and summer. 

   The leaf peepers came for the gold in the trees and left shortly after. I stay to immerse myself in the full cycle from green to red, orange, yellow, to gold and brown, as the leaves on the ground suppress weeds, retain moisture, boost nutrition, improve the soil, insulate next year’s butterflies, and provide food and habitat for birds and other creatures - then finally melt like butter in the warm spring sun, into the soil without a touch of my hand. 

   They (insects and other wildlife) come in droves for the leaves in our yard. Their lives and life cycles are spectacular, and their pollination gifts are divine. I will leave the leaves so these wildlife neighbors can safely return to their winter homes and I will be all the richer for it. 

   

Lead us to Nature

we will never again

be lost.  

- Bernie

We all want our children to grow up to be colorful and take flight.

Won't you leave the leaves for us to use as blankets over the winter and spring?

View more caterpillars, moths, and butterflies here.

Also, read The Butterfly That Leafed Out (Short Story) at https://vtbugeyed.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-butterfly-that-leafed-out.html